Sewing machine



March 12, 1929 B. T. LEVEQUE 1,705,193

SEWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 50, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet l March 12, TI LEVEQUE EWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 50, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 (fix/Z223 v 4 w wag $4421.:- 4

B. T. LEVEQUE SEWING MACHINE March 12, 1929.

Filed Nov. 30, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 2002/ was:

Patented Mar. 12, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,705,193 PATENT OFFICE.

BERNARD T. LEVEQUE, OF WENHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SEWING- MACHINE.

Application filed November 30, 1921. Serial No. 518,864.

The invention relates to driving and starting mechanism for sewing machines and other machines having reciprocating parts corresponding to the needle bars or carriers of sewing machines which should be uniformly brought into definite position upon the completion of an operation.

The invention will be further explained in connection with its application to the buttonhole sewing machine fully shown and described in application Serial No. 255,849, filed September 26, 1918, and in the division of said application, Serial No. 605,002, filed December 5, 1922.

The sewing mechanism of the above machine consists of upper and under needle carriers in the form of needle bars and these needle carriers should be brought to rest in retracted position free of the work at the completion of the sewing operation. To accomplish this result the needle carriers are actuated from a continuously rotating sewing shaft through connections which permit each carrierto be retained at the limit of its retracting stroke when a seam has been comdefinite point in the cycle in order to bring the needles into proper stopped positions. The needle carriers may be disconnected from the sewing shaft and retained in their retracted positions by devices which are automatically actuated at the completion of the sewing and at the same time the sewing shaft may be disconnected from its driving power. The sewing mechanism may, therefore, be run at high speed and may uniformly be brought to stopped position at the end of the sewing without undue shock and wear regardless of its speed and regardless of variations in speed incident to operating conditions.

The features of the invention indicated above, as well as further features referred to in the claims, will be understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the mechanism illustrated therein.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation showing the stitch forming mechanism and the forward part of the actuating and stopping mechanism therefor, Fig. 2 is a simthe stitch forming mechanism is actuated,

and a main cam shaft which is driven at high speed both before and after the sewing to control and actuate the mechanisms which operate during these periods in the buttonhole making cycle and is driven at slow speed durmg the sewing to relatively move the stitch forming mechanism and Work clamp to sew an overseam about the edge of a buttonhole.

As shown in the drawings the upper needle 2 is carried by a vertical needle bar 4: mounted to reciprocate in and turn with a sleeve 6 which is rotated during the sewing about the eye and bar end of the buttonhole. The under needle 8 is carried by a needle bar 10 mounted on a turret 12 which rotates in unison with the sleeve 6 and also carries a looper 14 and the under needle and looper operating mecha nism. d I

Both the upper needle bar and the under needle and looper mechanism are connected with parts which reciprocate synchronously therewith and are actuated from a continuouslyrotating shaftthroughconnectionswhich permit the reciprocating parts to be arrested and held at the limit of their needle retracting strokes without requiring the arrest of the shaft and connections through which motion is normally transmitted to the reciprocating parts. Means is also provided for disconnecting the power from the actuating shaft and for arresting the movement of the reciprocating parts and the connected needles to stop the stitch forming mechanism in proper position for the spacing of the work when the sewing of the buttonhole has been completed.

The mechanism for actuating the under needle and looper mechanism comprises alever 16 which is connected with the under needle and looper operating mechanism on the turret by a link 18 so that the reciprocation of the under needle is synchronous with the reciprocation of the lever. The lever is mounted on a ing the sewing from a continuously running shaft 22 which is provided with a crank 24 connected by a link 26 with one arm of a bell crank lever 28, the other arm of which is provided with a lateral projection 30 overlying the lever 16. The lever 16 is normally held in engagement with the projection 30 on the lever 28 by a heavy spring-32 coiled about the hub of the lever 28 and having one end engaging a pin 34 on the lever and the other engaging the under side of the lever 16. The levers 28 and 16 are also normally locked together by a latch 36 pivoted on the lever 16 and provided at its upper end with a shoulder adapted to overlie the projection 30 on the lever 28. The latch is held normally in engagement with the projection by a spring 38. During the sewing the levers 28 and 16 therefore move together and transmit motion from the actuating crank on the shaft 22 to the under needle bar and looper.

When the stitch forming mechanism is to be arrested at the end of the sewing the lever 16 is retained in its lower or needle retracted position by a stop dog 40 having a shoulder 42 adapted to be brought into position over the lever, and the latch 36 is disengaged from the lever 28 so that the lever 28 and the connected shaft 22 may continue to move independently of the lever 16 and the connected needle until the shaft finally comes to re st, the spring 32 yielding to permit, while resisting, such independent movement. The stop dog is mounted on a fixed pivot 44 and is moved into and out of active position through a lever 46, one arm of which is connected by a link 48 with the dog, and another arm of which is connected by a link 50 with a lever 52 operated from a cam 54 on the cam shaft 56. The latch 36 is also operated from the lever 46 through a slide 58 connected with one arm of the lever through a link 60 and provided with a lateral projection 62 arranged to engage the tail of the latch. During the sewing the stop dog is held in retracted or inactive position and the slide is held out of the path of the latch.

When the under needle and looper are arrested at the completion of the sewing the tension for the under thread is also released by the engagement of an arm 64 which projects from the stop dog 40 .with one arm of a tension release lever 66. .The tension release lever acts on a pin 68 to separate the tension disks 70 and thus release the under thread tension.

The mechanism for stopping the upper needle bar in retracted position is similar in construction and mode of operation to that for stopping the under needle in its retracted position. The upper needle bar is reciprocated through a lever 72 mounted fixed shaft 20 and is oscillated duron a stationary shaft 74 and'connected to an adjustable sleeve 76 on the bar by links 7 8 so a spring operated latch 86 carried by the lever 72 and engaging the projection 82 on the lever 80. The lever is oscillated to ad- .vance and retract the upper-needlebar by a crank 88 on the shaft 22 connected by a link 90 to the knuckle of two toggle links 92 which connect the lower end of the'lever 80 to a fixed pivot 94. The'lever'72 and connected needle bar are retainedin retracted position at. the end of the sewing by a stop.

dog 96 which is moved into and out of active position through a lever 98 connected by a link 100 with the cam lever 52 and connected with the stop dog through a link 102. Thelatch 86 is disengaged from thelever 80 when the stop dog 96 is moved into active position by a lever 104, the upper end of which is arranged to engage the tail of the latch and the lower end of which is connected by a link 106 with the lever 98. The tension on the upper thread is released when the upper needle is arrested in its retracted position by a tension releasing lever 108 operated by a pin 110 projecting from an arm of the lever'98.

The clutch through which the sewing shaft 22 is driven is disengaged as the sewing is completed and the stop dogs for the levers 16 and 7 2 moved into active position, and the resistance of the springs 32 and 84 after the levers have been arrested acts to overcome the momentum of the shaft and motion transmitting parts and also acts through the cranks 24 and 88 to finally bring the shaft to rest with the levers 28 and 80 in engagement with the levers 16 and 72. The sewing shaft is thus uniformly brought to rest with the connections therefrom to the needle bars in normal relation ready for the suc cecding sewing operation.

By the above mechanism the stitch forming mechanism is arrested or stopped by disconnecting it from the actuating shaft when the needles are in retracted position and the mechanism is at rest. The stopping of the mechanism is, therefore, effected without shock or jar thereto regardless of the speed at which the machine is run and without the necessity of stopping the actuating shaft and the entire train of mechanism through which motion is t.ransn'iit-ted at a definite point in the rotation of the shaft. The sewing mechanism may, therefore, be uniformly brought to stopping position at the end of the sewing without shock or wear when operated at high speed.

The mechanism for driving the cam shaft 56 which carries the cam 54 for controlling and timing the stopping of the stitch forming mechanism and also the cams for operating and controlling the various parts and mechanisms of the machine com rises a worm wheel 112 secured to the cam s aft and a worm 114 engaging the worm wheel and adapted to be rot-ated either continuously at high speed prior to and after the sewing or to be rotated intermittently from the sewing shaft 22 during the sewing; The worm is connected to a sleeve mounted to turn on the shaft 22 and provided at its end with a clutch member 116, the inner zone of which is arranged to be engaged by a clutch member formed on the inner end of the high speed driving sleeve 118, and the outer zone of which is arranged to be engaged by a clutch member on the end of the intermittent slow speed work feeding clutch sleeve 120. The high speed driving sleeve is adapted to slide on the shaft 22 and is provided on its outer end with a driving pulley 122 which is provided with a clutch member adapted to be engaged by a clutch member 124 secured to the shaft 22. The feed clutch sleeve 120 is oscillated during the sewing from the shaft 22 throughan eccentric 126 on the shaft and a series of levers and links indicated at 128."

by an eccentric 130 driven from the shaft 22 through the gears 132 and oscillating the clutch shifting lever 134 through the link 136.

The clutches for actuatin the cam shaft and the sewing shaft are t rown 1nto and out of action by a-clutch controlling lever 138 carrying a roll 140 which engages a camgroove 142 formed in the cam disk 54. The lever is connected through a link 144 with a horizontal arm of a bell crank lever 146, the,

vertical arm of which is connected with a sleeve 118 by pins 148 engaging an annular groove in the sleeve. The upper endof the link 144 slides through a block 150 pivoted to the lever 138 and a spring 152 normally holds a collar on the link in engagement with the under side of the block so that the levers 138 and 146 move in unison. The hub of the lever 146 is provided with a laterally projecting finger 154 arranged to engage a finger 156 on the clutch shifting lever 134 so that the movement of the lever 146 to move the high speed driving clutch sleeve 118 into neutral position, or into position to engage the high speed clutch with the worm sleeve,

withdraws the feeding clutch from active po-. sition, while the movement of the lever 146 into position to engage the pulley 122 with the clutch 124 permits the feeding clutch to be intermittently engaged with the worm sleeve by the eccentric '130. A spring 158 holds the roll on the controlling lever 138 in engagement with the outer side of the cam groove 140 and this groove is shaped to shift the clutches at the proper points lnthe rotation of the cam shaft which makes one revolution for each buttonhole making cycle. When the cam roll is in the low part of the cam groove the high speed driving clutch is in action and when the roll is in the high part a I I I b i moved into active position.

The clutch controlling lever 138 is moved into position to hold the driving clutches in neutral position at the completion of a buttonhole making cycle by a stopping cam 162 which, when in active position, forms a section of the outer side of the cam groove and acts on the roll 140 to 'move the lever into the stopping position indicated in Fig. 4. The stopping cam is formed on the outer end of an arm 164 projecting radially from a sleeve 166 which is mounted to'slide axially within a recess formed in the cam disk 54. The arm is confined within a radial slot in the cam disk so that it travels with the disk while being movable axially into and out of the path of the roll 140 on theclutch controlling lever. When in active position the cam carrying arm forms a stop for engaging the roll and limiting the forward movement of the cam shaft. The cam carrying sleeve 166 is normally held in active position by a spring 168. The sleeve is moved to withdraw the stopping cam from engagement with the roll 140 by a sleeve 170 mounted to turn freely on the cam shaft 56 and provided with, V- shaped cams arranged to normally lie within corresponding recesses formed in the inner end of the bearing 172 for the cam shaft. The outer end of the cam carrying sleeve 166 bears against the inner side of the cam sleeve 170. The sleeve 170 is rocked to press the cam carrying sleeve 166 in'ward'through a rock shaft 174, the inner end of which is pro-- vided with an arm 176 connected by a link 178 with the sleeve 170 and the outer end of which is provided with an arm 180 connected with a treadle rod 182-.

When the treadle rod is depressed the cam carrying sleeve 166 is moved inward, thus withdrawing the stopping cam 162 from engagement with the roll 140 so that the clutch controlling lever 138 is moved by the spring 158 'into position to engage the high speed driving clutch. If the treadle is immediately released the sleeve 166 will return to normal position so that after the cam shaft has made a single revolution the stopping cam 162 will shift the clutch controllin lever to disengage the drivin clutches and thus arbut may be rest the rotation of the'cam shaft, the stopping position of which will be determined by the engagement of the arm 164 with the roll 140. If the treadle rod is held in depressed position, however, the stopping camwill be held out of active position and the cam shaft will continue to be rotated without interrup tion until the treadle rod is released.

It may be desirable under some circumstances to throw off the power and stop the machine while the machine is in position for sewing and when, therefore, the cam ro'll 140 is in engagement with the low part of the cam and to thereafter turn the cam shaft to stoppin position without actuating the sewing mec anism. To permit this to be done the arm 17 6 is provided with a lug 184 arranged to overlie the upper end of the link 144. Under normal conditions the movement of the arm 176 is limited by the engagement of the arm 180 with an eccentric stop 186 so that the lug-18d does not engage the upper end of the link 144. If it is desired to manually turn the cam shaft into stopping position after it has been stopped with the roll 140 in the low part of the cam 1&2 the eccentric stop 186 is turned by movement of. the handle 188 into such position that an abnormal downward movement of the clutch rod, and therefore of the lug 18a, is permitted. Such movement of the lug 184: will depress the link 14 4: and shift the clutch sleeve 118 into engagement with the worm sleeve. The clutch sleevemay then be rotated manually to turn the cam shaft without actuating the shaft 22 and the stitch forming mechanism. To permit the clutch sleeve to be conveniently operated by hand the pulley 122 is provided with a ratchet wheel 190 arranged to be engaged by a ratchet rack 192 pivoted on an actuating lever 194 and held yieldingly in position to ride into engagement with the ratchet wheel by a spring 196.

While the invention. has been shown and described as applied to a buttonhole sewing machine it will be understood that it is not confined in its application to such machine embodied in other sewing machines or in machines in which the mechanism for operating on the work includes a reci rocatin art or )arts corres ondin to the needle carrler or carriers of the stitch forming mechanism of a sewing machine which at the completion of an operation is to be brought to rest and retainedat the limit of its stroke.

What is claimed is: 1. A machine having, in combination, operating mechanism including a reciprocating part, a lever connected to oscillate synchronously with the part, an actuating lever, alatch for normally connecting the levers, a normally inactive stop for retaining the former lever at one end of its oscillation, a separate latch operating device for disengaging the latch, and means for rendering the stop inactive and for actuating the latch operating device. A

'2. A machine having, in combination, operating mechanism including a reciprocating part, a lever connected to oscillate synchronously with the part, an actuating lever, a latch for normally connecting the levers, a normally inactive stop for retaining the former lever at one end of its oscillation, a separatelatch operating device, a lever, connections from the latter lever to the stop, andconnections from the latter lever to the latch operating device.

3. A sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming mechanism including a reciprocating needle carrier, a lever connected to operate synchronously with the needle carrier, an actuating lever, a latch for normally connecting the levers, a normally inactive stop for retaining the former lever at one end of its oscillation, .a separate latch operating device, and means for rendering the stop active and for actuating the latch operating device at the completion of the sewing,

4. A sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming mechanism including a reciprocating needle carrier, a lever connected to operate synchronously with the needle carrier, an actuating lever, a latch for normally connecting the levers, a normally inactive stop for retaining the former lever at one end of its oscillation, a separate latch operating device, and means for rendering the stop active and for actuating the latch 105 operating device.

5. A sewing machine having, in combination, a cam shaft, a sewing shaft, driving clutches for the cam and sewing shaft, a clutch controlling cam on the cam shaft, and 119 means for manually throwing in the clutch for driving the cam shaft when the machine has been stopped with the controlling cam and clutches in sewing relation.

6. A sewing machine having, in combina 1 5 tion, a sewing shaft, a cam shaft, a clutch for driving the cam shaft, a clutch for driving the sewing shaft, mechanism for actuating the cam shaft from the sewing shaft, mechanism for automatically controllingthe clutches,

for driving the cam shaft while the sewing Y shaft is idle, a clutch for driving the sewing shaft, mechan sm for actuating the cam shaft from the sewing shaft, a cam on the cam 1 o shaft, and connections between the cam and clutches through which the cam shifts the clutches constructed to permit manual control of the clutches when the cam shaft has been stopped with the artsin sewing relation.

8. A machine aving, in combination, a cam shaft, two clutches for driving the shaft at different speeds, a camon the shaft, connections between the cam and clutches for shifting the clutches, a starting lever forcausing the initial shiftof the clutches, meansunder the control of the operator for permitting anabnormalmovement of the starting lever, and means operated by such movement for actuating said connections independent y of the cam.

9. A machine havmg, 1n combmation, a

cam shaft, two clutches for driving the cam shaft at different speeds, a clutch controlling cam on the cam shaft, and means for manu-' ally shifting the clutches while the cam shaft remains stationary to throw in one clutchv when the shaft has been stopped with the controlling cam in position to retain the other clutch in action.

10. A machine having, in combination, a cam shaft, high and low speed clutches for driving the cam shaft, a clutch controlling cam on the cam shaft, connections between the cam and the clutches constructed to permit manual control of the clutches when the shaft has been stopped with the cam in position to retain the low speed clutch in action.

11. A sewing machine having, in combination, a sewing shaft, a cam shaft, a driver, a high speed clutch for connecting the cam shaft with said driver, a clutch for connecting the sewing shaft with said driver, mechanism for actuating the cam shaft from the sewing shaft, automatically acting controlling devices for the clutches constructed to permit the high speed clutch to be thrown in manually when the power is off, and means for manually actuating said clutch.

12. A sewing machine having, in combination, a cam shaft, a sewing shaft, driving clutches for the cam and sewing shafts, a clutch controlling cam on the cam shaft provided with a stepping section movable into and out of active position, and a camfollower connected with the clutches.

13. A's'ewing machine having, in combination, a cam shaft, a sewing shaft, driving clutches for the cam and sewing shafts, a clutch controlling cam on the cam shaft, a cam follower connected with the clutches, and a stopping cam movable into and out of position to act on the cam follower.

14. A sewing machine having, in combination, a-cam shaft, a sewing shaft, driving clutches for the cam and sewing shafts, a clutch controlling cam on the cam shaft, a cam follower connected with the clutches, and a stopping cam movable axially of the controlling camand forming a section thereof.

15. A sewing machine having, in combination, a cam shaft, a sewing shaft, driving clutches for the cam and sewing shafts, a clutch controlling cam on the cam shaft, a cam follower connected with the clutches, and a radial arm provided with a stop ing cam and movable axially into and out 0 position to engage the cam follower.

16. A sewing machine having, in combination, a cam shaft, a sewing shaft, driving clutches for the cam and sewing shafts, a

clutch controlling cam on the cam shaft, a

stopping cam movable axially of the controlling cam and forming a section thereof, and manually operated means for moving the stopping cam.

BERNARD T. LEVEQUE. 

